Remembering Adam “MCA” Yauch

Adam "MCA" Yauch passed away on Friday after his battle with cancer, and I don't remember being this sad about losing a music star in a long, long time. 

Yes, I was sad about Dick Clark's passing, but I actually broke down and cried after I found out about MCA. I was never really a fan of rap, but I loved the Beastie Boys. I played License to Ill a lot. I had it on cassette and bought it on CD when I got my first car. I was always a fan of Beastie Boys. It was just fun party music and always put me in a good mood.

In 2009, the party was ruined when MCA found a tumor in his salivary gland. He did have chemotherapy and radiation to combat the disease and he also modified his diet and went totally vegan at the advice of his doctors in Tibet. Last month, Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and MCA was too ill to attend and that was the clue to everyone that he was in his last stages of battle with cancer.

MCA was there in spirit and even wrote a letter expressing his gratitude. He dedicated the induction honor to his "brothers" Mike "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz. He also mentioned the fans, saying that the induction was as much theirs as is was the band's. He mentioned his parents and thanked them for allowing them to practice with the "windows wide open to disturb the neighborhood." Many did not know that MCA was married with a daughter. He called them his soul mates and said that he was blessed to spend his life with them.

Cable channel HBO made some modifications to the taping of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and broadcast it Friday night, which was a little earlier than planned. They also dedicated the broadcast to the memory of Adam.

Adam Yauch will be missed from White Castle to the Nile.